menace2sobriety

Hey guys,

Just wondering if any of you have ever had the same symptoms that my 04 E55 is starting to have

I don't want to be throwing parts into it so I just need to see if there is a definitive answer, my first bet is a vacuum leak, second - plugs

* I have a set of New Iridium Plugs coming from EBay but due to international shipping they are about 2 weeks away

Ok, driving around normally is fine, in light traffic I can drive any distance with no issue, it only seems to rear its head in stop start traffic after about 20 minutes of driving, in traffic where I am either stopped or cruising 5MPH with 1mm of throttle for some time

It seems to instantly switch on, as if it switches to a new map and the car starts idling rough and becoming jerky on slow down, higher RPM it is fine (anything over 1500rpm or more), only around idle the car starts to shake around a bit like it's cammed and when coasting with 1-2mm throttle

It started a couple of weeks ago and I thought I had fixed it with a loose Y pipe, this drove fine for about a week then happened again, once again I refitted the y pipe and it was ok for about 3 days, now it seems to occur daily for the past 2 days

For some reason though the bottom of my y pipe does seem to keep coming loose - when refitting I can literally pull on it and it is secure top and bottom, but after this issue re occurs I find the bottom can be wiggled again and is not correctly clipped on)

I wonder if the exhaust wrap around the intake pipes beside the radiator are helping the y pipe to pop off because they are quite tight are putting pressure on the y pipe when the engine torques? (theory)

I have found that if I turn the car off then turn it on straight away the car returns to working normally and no more jerky behaviour or rough idle

When the issue occurs I have heard popping down the exhaust upon slowing down which is why I am going to replace the plugs (I do not know when they were last replaced, only owned the car 3 months)

* WHEN IT FIRST OCCURRED THERE WAS A P0106 CODE, SINCE THEN 2 WEEKS NO FAULT CODES LOGGED AND NOTHING LOGGED IN STAR

What I have found:

My Y Pipe at the throttle body has been loose on numerous occasions even after refitting and making sure it is on tight

All vacuum lines around the throttle body, intake, supercharger all seem to be fitted and nothing is loose or disconnected - although I STILL reckon it is a vacuum leak somewhere, going to spray it all with some spray to see if I can find it

I have tried to find the line that usually pops off that goes to the back of the supercharger up to the bypass valve but for the life of me cannot find it, my vehicle is RHD if that makes any difference, even with the surge tanks off etc I could not find it (if someone has a picture of it could they post it up)

I did a throttle shaft grind (very conservative) and painted the surge tanks about 1-2 months ago, initially I had an issue but all was resolved and car has been running perfect up until recently with this issue

Any help or advice will be appreciated, as I said no codes are being thrown so it is a little hard to diagnose and may eventually come down to throwing parts at it and removing and resealing everything again

Thanks

Hulk

This is the dreaded hiccup issues some are having, be careful when driving after that rough idle because the car will be running very lean, a key cycling with fix the issue until it comes back. There really hasn't been a solution for those who have it

menace2sobriety

Even with a stock TB? - things have been running fine for a couple of months, this issue just started recently and that's when I found the y pipe to be wiggly and the bottom clip to keep popping off, I may need to see what wires/pipes are under the throttle body stopping this clip from doing it's job

I am pretty sure there is a vacuum leak, I have scoured the internet over the past 2 weeks and there have been a few accounts of the Y Pipe being loose causing this, and as stated my Y Pipe for some reason keeps coming loose and when I refit it securely it seems fine for a while until...possibly it comes loose again

It's just a pain that no codes are being thrown so really need to get some contact cleaner or something and spray the to see if idle changes

I post this today because I refitted the Y pipe last night and it should have been fine but driving to work this morning it reoccurred (not as bad as previous days where it was getting dodgy trying to drive it in bumper to bumper traffic with it bucking)

If this is the TB "Hiccup" then everyone with a 82mm TB needs to look into the possibility of having an actual vacuum leak somewhere in that area

I really need to find the pipe that pops off when doing the valve cover gaskets etc as I haven't been able to find it's location on my engine? - I have found some pictures of it this morning but even so they are fairly vague

I may have 2 issues (subtle vacuum leak (y pipe?) and old plugs)

* My gas mileage has also turned to crap over the past few weeks, a tank used to last me almost 2 weeks to and from work, now I am filling up at just over a week

Hulk

Can you switch tb with someone?

menace2sobriety

I would love to but being in New Zealand these E55's are pretty hard to come by and as for parts, good luck

Everything I have bought for it since ownership has all come from either the states or Europe

otherwise for example a TB that I could order in from overseas for a couple of hundred, I could be looking at around $1000-1500 at a parts place here and that may even be a second hand one

I do have some E55's TB's save on Ebay/Amazon as a last resort once all other areas are exhausted

* I have enquired with a couple of guys in the Mercedes club here to use theirs to test but yeah....that ain't going to happen

Hulk

Wow...do you have logging equipment besides star?

menace2sobriety

I have been using the Torque App for Android to monitor IAT's/Boost etc whilst driving and to do a quick test for codes when the issue occurs if I am away from home

Besides that I have no Wideband yet to watch fuelling

STAR caught the P0106 code initially after it first happened, but after clearing that code it has not returned, I will however try to pull the codes through STAR again as it has been a week and is slowly getting worse (until refitting the Y-pipe)

I'll be having another look tonight when I get home, it's a right pain being at work knowing this issue is present and knowing I got to drive home with it possibly re-occurring

Being an ex grease monkey I don't mind getting dirty but currently being at work in a suit and white shirt is kind of stopping me from getting into the carpark at lunch to start pulling engine components off

(I get the feeling I have possibly already diagnosed it to be the Y Pipe, but until I fit the new plugs I really wont know)

Going to possibly need to remove the throttle body a get rid of that silver metal tab with the curve, I think that has clogged up the wiring and pipes behind it, and that's the area the lower clip goes

vioilio

Any update? I'm fighting the P0106 intermittent code as well.

menace2sobriety

QUICK UPDATE: I got it home on Thursday, checked my Y-Pipe which was on there tight, I then proceeded to spray every area of the engine that could possibly be sprayed with throttle body cleaner to try to find any vacuum leaks - (NO Change In Idle)

The only time I could get the idle to change was if I sprayed directly into the throttle body

I then re torqued all surge tank and throttle body bolts which were ok

Checked all vacuum lines which were ok

I went into star and had no errors at all since the last time I had cleared the codes, even though the symptoms had returned

I then in STAR reset all fuel adaptations etc etc etc, everything related to the throttle body and fuelling

I then found an area in STAR which had throttle blade percentage which I thought I may have altered some time ago after having the initial issues after grinding my throttle body shaft, this was set to 1.3 degrees

the only 2 options were 1.3 degrees or 0.6 degrees, I set it to 0.6 degrees

RESULT:

Friday morning stop start traffic - drove perfectly the whole way into work, throttle response a lot better and coming to a stop idle smooth and clean

Friday Afternoon - no issues again, car drives like new

Saturday Morning - Afternoon I drove 230kms, the whole time faultless, smooth to coast and smooth to return to idle

Sunday Morning - Afternoon another 100kms or so, faultless, clean idle, no rumble, no vibration at idle from where it feels like there is a miss or two

** MONDAY MORNING - stop start traffic - issue has returned, cycle the ignition issue goes away long enough to get me into work

Fuct off to say the least

Still waiting on plugs

I currently have 19 TABS open in my browser right now trying to find help, looks like I may need to buy another throttle body? (This is the STOCK 74mm on my car now)

The symptoms look like they are IDENTICAL to the 82mm throttle body hiccup, drives fine, boosts fine, but after driving slowly with minimal-none throttle for 10-20 minutes (eg peak hour traffic) it goes into a bucking jerky lean mode

Notes: I did remove my blade from the throttle body as I was going to do a half shaft instead of grind, I then decided against this and refitted the blade and started to grind the threaded side first, got about 2mm down and my dremel crapped out so stopped there, tidied it up with a file and refitted with only the threaded side ground down, screw side untouched - so really mild grind to say the least, initially the car had a spaz when I first started it after fitting everything back throwing codes after letting it idle for 5 minutes or more (the throttle body had so much gunk in it before cleaning/grinding that it would have been choking for air with the blade almost closed), but after about 50kms driving it seemed to have re learnt the parameters and was fine for a good 2 months with no issues, no bucking, no missing, no rough idle (just like a bought one)

vioilio

I heard that sometimes the voltage going to the map sensor needs to be increased slightly but I'm not 100% sure if this is true or not. Also Jerry from (EC) told me that he did this in my latest tune but I didnt got a chance to upload it to the car yet.

menace2sobriety

I'm still got my money on a vacuum leak - either that or I've somehow screwed up my throttle body when removing the butterfly /grinding it

The only thing that has been done to my vehicle so far is Throttle body shaft grind and painting of the SC and Surge Tanks and Belt Wrap Kit, besides that the tune is stock and I had NO prior issues with this vehicle

I'm going to pull the Throttle body off and possibly the surge tanks and reseal them this weekend, possibly one night this week for the Throttle Body seal if I can get the car to cool down enough before it gets too dark, I have enquired with local parts places and no gaskets are available, so I would have to import them via Ebay/Amazon which could take 2-4 weeks to arrive, so in the meantime I am going to use a small 2mm dose of RTV silicone to see if that helps

I am enquiring about getting a smoke test done for piece of mind while I am at it, hopefully I can get one soon and see if it picks anything up

Also looking for a spare Stock 74mm throttle body if anyone wants to chuck theirs away, shipped to Auckland New Zealand (will pay)

DVC

What do your LTFTs look like with the Torque app?

thaewogrei

I'm fighting the P0106 intermittent code as well.

uraberg

With current fuel injected cars, you will not find a vacuum leak with TB cleaner, unless you keep an eye on short term fuel trim. That will respond before your idle does. Are you running a fixed pulley?

menace2sobriety

No completely Stock besides a very "very" mild shaft grind on my Throttle Body

I logged all the way to work this morning:

I torqued down the surge tanks and throttle body again last night and this morning the occurrence happened TWICE and a P0106 code was thrown for the first time since it was first thrown 3 weeks ago

I am trying to book it in for a smoke test this week but it looks as though there is a leak at either the surge tanks or the throttle body-snout

My logs this morning were:

STFT1 and STFT2 at idle (when running good) were between -1.6%, -0.8%, 0%, 0.8%, 1.6%

Just before the issue occurred when taking my foot off the throttle intermittently instead of it coasting smoothly and dropping gears without notice it felt as though I have chopped down to second gear and released the clutch (manual reference to the feeling) - there was a noticeable engine braking feeling and both STFT's kept going to 15.6%

Then the issue finally occurred not long after that and they were both stuck at 25%

O2 sensors banks 1 and 2 when in normal range were both between 0.1V and 0.9V

When the issue occurred they were both stuck at 0.1V or 0.2V

LTFT1 was 3.1
LTFT2 was 2.3


LTFT1 ended up on 0.8 by the time I got to work

I will definitely be ripping the tanks off and throttle body and using silicone sealant this time round, but will still be going in for a smoke test just in case the leak is somewhere else

** I had a problem when saving the log file the APP crashed so I failed to get a hard copy of them for my reference **

uraberg

Have you tried the obvious, and replaced the MAP sensor? It's not going to brake the bank. At least, check the plug and wiring.
I could be wrong, but I seem to remember people bumping the idle just a tad to solve this.

menace2sobriety

If the smoke test $30 doesn't show anything then that will possibly be the first option which will cost me $120 but.....

The P0106 happened 3 weeks ago with this issue, I re torqued the surge tanks and throttle body and cleared the code, car then ran fine for over a week, was faultless, issue started to come back but noticed the y pipe at the throttle body was coming loose, fitting that and it would run fine for a few days

Yesterday issue returned very lightly nothing major, got home last night and thought hey what the hell, it helped the last time I did it and tightened all the bolts again and re checked all lines

This morning it happened twice and was rough most of the way into work, my thoughts is from tightening everything again I have made the leak worse not better

I need to reseal everything again, this weekend will possibly be the earliest I can do it

A P0106 code refers to the map sensor but it is very vague and a number of things can get that code to be thrown, mainly unmetered air / air leaks

uraberg

yes, I understand that p0106 is set as a result of inplausible measurements, but these sensors do go bad. If you're going to take the surgetank off anyway, you might think about just replacing it/ checking it. The sensor should not set you back more than $50.

menace2sobriety

Is that $50US?

I am in NZ, a $50 US part here can easily cost a couple of hundred NZ (around $150US)

IF.... I can find one which will be a hit and miss here, I have once seen one for around $100+, I am currently enquiring around now

Otherwise I will need to import one 3-4 weeks shipping via ebay etc

I am pretty sure I went through star last week and did checks for the MAP which all passed, but yes, as I said I will look into replacing it if the issue occurs after re sealing everything this weekend, but more than likely there is no way I will have a map sensor for this vehicle by then

New Plugs are also still on their way as well, ordered them some time ago

* Since tightening the bolts last night it wants to idle around 7-800rpm now and looks as though it fights to get to ~600

uraberg

I keep forgetting about you guys. When I hear about prices for a used E over there, I'm getting a heart attack.

menace2sobriety

Could be a nice business adventure for one of you guys in a Niche market

Yep, every part I ever need I have to import or hand over a kidney to pay for them

Importing plugs, with shipping $200NZ, go to buy them at a parts store $550

Can't find a MAP sensor yet, been asking around this morning (not looking forward to replacing that either as it is a **** of a thing to replace)

Fingers crossed the resealing works, booked in for a smoke test on Thursday

90% of this cries vacuum leak

9% MAP sensor

1% The problem is probably the loose nut behind the wheel

jcjmw

a P0106 code or hiccup on a stock oem 78 tb...has got to be a vacuum leak somewhere.

menace2sobriety

Thanks

74mm

Yep, I'll be resealing using RTV silicone this weekend - or one night this week if possible

What would be recommended? - Should I re-use the current metal gaskets and use a light layer of silicone on either side or scrap the original gaskets all together and just use the silicone

menace2sobriety

Drove home last night and it went into lean mode about 2-3 times with P0106 codes being thrown left and right

So I got home and stripped off both Surge Tanks and Throttle Body last night and resealed everything, reset all adaptations and reset all idle and fuel mixtures to default settings

So far so good this morning

No more P0106 codes being thrown on my data logger

Idle and Coast smooth with no rough patches

Hasn't gone into the retarded lean mode it was going into before

Time will tell if all is well, fingers crossed, but so far so good

vioilio

Please keep me posted. I have evosport phenolic spacers with needswings cork gaskets but I also think I have a leak. My fuel trim on one bank is very different than the other.